I'm still waiting on my last grade, but I am very unhappy with what I've gotten so far. I've received an Honors A in Legal Writing, an A in Legal Research, a B in Civ Pro, and a C+ in Criminal Law (no idea how that happened). I worked incredibly hard this semester and gave it 100%. I'm not sure if there's something I'm not fully understanding or grasping that others are, or what gives. I do plan to meet with my professors to see where I went wrong on my exams, however.

I am at a lower tiered school. I plan to finish out this year no matter what, and plan to work just as hard. But if I complete my three years, I will be around $105k in debt. If I left after this year, I would only be out $35k, with no loans from undergrad. I have a solid undergraduate degree in a business field, and experience in it as well. I was hoping to do some kind of firm-work, or maybe even public interest, but I don't want to live with a large amount of debt and a low-paying salary when I could potentially do better in the business field.

I'm asking for honest opinions and please, no negative comments. It's been a very hard past couple of days, as this would be a big decision. Law school was always a dream of mine, but I don't want to go into a profession where I'm not as confident in my academic success as I was in undergraduate. I appreciate and welcome all of your help! Law school truly isn't for everyone, especially in this market.

My guess is you were aware of the challenges of going to a TT but figured stellar grades would improve the odds. Since that is not happening, your job prospects are obviously iffy. Your decision may come down to, what advantage does a JD provide with a degree in a business field.

If you're going to finish out the year no matter what, this poll is really premature. Your grades will either go up next semester, or they will not, but if you're going to take the classes anyway, why not make your decision once you see them?

As for your existing grades, it seems that your good grades are in non-substantive classes which probably didn't rely on the infamous "law school final," while your lower grades are in classes that probably depended on such finals. If you can meet with professors and utilize your school's resources to work on your ability to write final exam answers, you might have a shot. However, be aware that a C+ at a TT school is going to be hard to overcome.

Thanks for your replies so far, everyone. I'm going to give you a little more information/clarify some things to see if that helps. I truly appreciate your feedback so far.

1) I was hurried when writing the original post, and realized I used the wrong terminology when I said "lower-ranked" what I really should have said is that I'm at a fourth tier near a major market. I didn't think about the fact that my school technically isn't even ranked when I typed it.

2) Pending my Contracts grade (which is taking the registrar awhile to normalize), I estimate that I'll be around the top 40% of my class or maybe a little lower. Contracts was easily the hardest final, but I know my classmates felt similarly, so we will see how it turns out. I'm basing my estimation of my rank on prior school year data.

3) The reason I am sticking it out this year is to see if I can keep my scholarship, to see how this semester works for me, as well as to make sure I'm making the right decision. I failed to mention above that the $105k estimate of debt is WITH my scholarship. If I do sink below a 3.0 at the end of the school year and stay in school, I will be accruing around $135k of debt. That really terrifies me. I also think I would feel more comfortable going into job interviews after a year of school, so I could fully explain to a potential employer that I did try to stick it out, but in the end, it was not for me.

4) The job prospects at my school are dismal. Average starting salary is around $50k, and our career services fails to even mention employment to us. I believe it's around 60% if not a little less.

I ended up at this school due to the scholarship trap, and applying very late in the game because of a hectic senior year. With my GPA and LSAT, I could have ended up at a low TT, but if I'm getting this poor of grades at a fourth-tier, who knows what would have happened there. I've succeeded academically my entire life up to this point, so it's just been very hard to deal with. I'm sure plenty of people go through this.

Im in a similar situation(worse gpa though) at a TT. I have a full tuition scholarship(have to be top 40% to retain) and I am dropping out. People will resist, tell you not to be a quitter and a bunch of other silly platitudes. But the facts remain that there are around 20,000 real legal jobs per year and 45,000 graduates per year. And that doesnt include all the prior grads still trying to break into the market. Campos estimates that only 1/3(maybe even less) get real full time long term legal employment.

Unless being a lawyer is your main goal in life, you should drop out imo. Remember you can always go back in a few years with a better lsat, work experience and probably less competition as news of the state the profession is in is finally spreading to the masses.

thomas7669 wrote:Im in a similar situation(worse gpa though) at a TT. I have a full tuition scholarship(have to be top 40% to retain) and I am dropping out. People will resist, tell you not to be a quitter and a bunch of other silly platitudes. But the facts remain that there are around 20,000 real legal jobs per year and 45,000 graduates per year. And that doesnt include all the prior grads still trying to break into the market. Campos estimates that only 1/3(maybe even less) get real full time long term legal employment.

Unless being a lawyer is your main goal in life, you should drop out imo. Remember you can always go back in a few years with a better lsat, work experience and probably less competition as news of the state the profession is in is finally spreading to the masses.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

7 years from the start of your first JD if you have 1L first semester grades.

ajax adonis wrote:An unranked school near a major market? Sounds similar to Southwestern, Cardozo and NYLS. Even if those aren't your schools, your job prospects are about the same. Drop the eff out now. Go pursue your career in the business field and even if you don't succeed, you don't end up in the whole anymore money-wise. Screw that school and its "scholarship." That is not a scholarship. That is the equivalent of telling you you have a 10% discount on a 50% marked-up item. Repeat: get the hell out before you pay for another semester. You're probably a competitive dude and you want to go another round. Don't. In this case, it's like a down and out gambler going another hand of black jack when they're already paying money they don't have.

Not that I go to Cardozo, but since when is a school ranked approx. 50 equivalent to an unranked Tier 4 school? Not really relevant to the thread, just wanted to clear the air (especially for the likely offended Cardozo attendees).

thomas7669 wrote:Im in a similar situation(worse gpa though) at a TT. I have a full tuition scholarship(have to be top 40% to retain) and I am dropping out. People will resist, tell you not to be a quitter and a bunch of other silly platitudes. But the facts remain that there are around 20,000 real legal jobs per year and 45,000 graduates per year. And that doesnt include all the prior grads still trying to break into the market. Campos estimates that only 1/3(maybe even less) get real full time long term legal employment.

Unless being a lawyer is your main goal in life, you should drop out imo. Remember you can always go back in a few years with a better lsat, work experience and probably less competition as news of the state the profession is in is finally spreading to the masses.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

7 years from the start of your first JD if you have 1L first semester grades.

thomas7669 wrote:Im in a similar situation(worse gpa though) at a TT. I have a full tuition scholarship(have to be top 40% to retain) and I am dropping out. People will resist, tell you not to be a quitter and a bunch of other silly platitudes. But the facts remain that there are around 20,000 real legal jobs per year and 45,000 graduates per year. And that doesnt include all the prior grads still trying to break into the market. Campos estimates that only 1/3(maybe even less) get real full time long term legal employment.

Unless being a lawyer is your main goal in life, you should drop out imo. Remember you can always go back in a few years with a better lsat, work experience and probably less competition as news of the state the profession is in is finally spreading to the masses.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

7 years from the start of your first JD if you have 1L first semester grades.

source? I thought it was 2, and thats only if you fail out.

called up an T14 admissions office and they told me that. Something about 7 years requirement (ABA regulations) to complete JD once it has been started. That is if you're applying to a different law school from the one which you withdrawn from.